Receive Weekly Teaching | Grow Week 2

We can’t live on our own wisdom. We’re hungry for truth and need answers. But to truly learn we can’t Google everything. We need to receive weekly teaching from a trusted source. Kyle talks about how even Jesus received weekly teaching and how important it is for our growth.

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    - And the specific practice we're unpacking today
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    is receiving teaching weekly.
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    It's a core practice that all of the followers of Jesus
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    who have grown and experience that abundant life
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    that Jesus promised, they have always prioritized.
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    - Welcome to Crossroads and welcome to the Grow Journey.
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    I'm Brian, and before we get started,
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    just what exactly is this Journey thing?
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    Well, let me start with the word grow.
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    In the Bible, we see seven practices that Jesus does.
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    And when we unlock these proven practices
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    in our own lives, we grow, we advance,
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    we go to the next place, we feel closer to God.
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    Each week of this series, we will be looking at
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    a different one of the seven proven practices
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    and figuring out how to apply to our individual lives.
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    That's the grow part.
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    The Journey part means
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    that we're going on a journey together,
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    a bunch of people going step by step
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    through a process of self discovery
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    and sharpening one another
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    and sensing God moment by moment, week by week.
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    As a church, we're all doing it,
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    and we do it by meeting in groups
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    and going through the guidebook,
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    as well as having something to see online
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    or in a building.
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    We'll show you how to do that later in the episode.
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    I'm glad you're watching.
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    And I believe if you engage,
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    you're going to grow closer to God in the next 20 minutes.
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    Now let's get started.
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    - If you want to treat a grow,
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    to force it would be folly.
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    You do not ask it: What will you make?
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    What will you produce?
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    How high will you reach?
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    How fast can you get there?
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    If you want to treat a grow, you simply resource it.
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    You ask: What do you need?
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    And you provide generously the light to bask in,
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    the water to drink in, the fertile soil to root in,
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    the holy space to take shape.
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    God likens Himself to all these things:
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    the light of the world,
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    a well overflowing,
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    the very nutrients you need.
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    If you are designed to grow,
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    God doesn't force it; He resources it.
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    - But whose delight is in the law of the Lord
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    and who meditates on his law day and night?
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    That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
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    which yields its fruit in season
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    and whose leaf does not wither.
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    Whatever they do prospers.
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    - You were designed to grow by simply receiving.
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    They need to receive.
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    What do you need?
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    - So, a question right out of the gate:
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    who tries to teach you about what's important in life?
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    Like who you are, what you're made for,
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    how to live effectively and hopefully joyfully,
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    where to invest your time and your energy?
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    All the important stuff.
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    Well, the answer is everyone all the time.
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    Or like the movie, everything everywhere all the time.
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    In 2007, the Yankelovich research firm found that
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    the average person was exposed to
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    5000 different messages every day, which is insane.
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    Only now that number has doubled to 10,000.
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    So, we've seen 5000 by lunch. It's crazy.
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    In fact, I just checked right before coming here,
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    and Instagram wants me to invest my time, my energy,
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    my resources into working out.
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    Not a bad idea.
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    You Tube wants me to invest my time, my energy,
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    my resources in a master class.
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    And Facebook, well, Facebook I actually didn't check
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    because it's officially irrelevant,
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    unless I have an old mattress to sell on Marketplace.
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    Sorry, Mark Zuckerberg.
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    It's just -- it's just what we're at now.
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    Just where we're at.
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    Did you know that the digital advertising industry
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    is worth $585 billion a year? That's crazy.
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    Why? Why is it worth that much?
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    It's because it works.
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    What they teach us to want, to invest our time,
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    our energy and resources in is what we invest in.
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    What they teach us to want is what we want.
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    Where they teach us to go is where we end up going.
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    And why does it work?
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    It's because you and me are very, very impressionable,
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    or said more positively, we're by nature very teachable.
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    The problem is most of those teachers in our lives,
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    not the ones in classrooms, they're not talking about that.
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    I'm talking about Instagram and Facebook and YouTube
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    and all the messages that we receive,
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    all those teachers aren't trying to give us more energy.
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    They're not trying to work towards our growth.
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    They're trying to take our time and our energy.
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    But see this Journey, this Grow Journey,
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    it's about growing.
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    It's about getting to a better place.
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    It's about investing for a return.
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    But their goal is the opposite:
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    to take time, money, energy, attention.
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    Jesus promised to give us more.
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    He said we could grow and grow and grow
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    until we have what He called the abundant life.
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    - Every week after the service is over,
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    we go see my mom at the nursing home
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    and she asks, "What's the -- what was the sermon about?"
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    And we tell her.
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    - I try to attend service on the weekends.
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    - Routine is huge for me.
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    Receiving weekly teachings
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    is something that keeps me grounded
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    and helps create spiritual disciplines in my life.
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    - I go to Crossroads Uptown or I'll watch online.
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    - How I receive weekly teaching
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    looks like streaming the services online.
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    - Every week on Sunday nights, my family and I
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    get together and we just talk about the Bible.
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    - Receiving weekly teacher really impacts my life
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    in a way that reminds me that I am a model.
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    I'm a model to my wife, my children, grandchildren,
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    my mentees, and even my employees.
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    So, people who really want to test the fruit of your walk,
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    it's not just what you say,
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    but it's the actions that you show.
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    - Jesus promised the abundant life was possible
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    in John 10:10 when He said,
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    "I came that they may have life
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    and have it abundantly."
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    The question for you today is
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    who's regularly teaching you
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    how to have that kind of life,
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    how to have life and have it abundantly?
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    Who's teaching you how to grow
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    in the ways that matter the most,
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    to grow in peace and hope and joy,
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    and most of all, in your understanding
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    of the God who created you
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    to enjoy all those things and more?
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    Because you won't grow accidentally.
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    You won't experience the abundant life accidentally.
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    The good news today, though, is
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    you don't have to guess how to grow.
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    It's not, like, just hope you get it right.
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    In this Journey we're looking at
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    the seven proven practices that lead to growth.
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    Every one of these are time tested practices
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    that date back 2000 years.
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    And the specific practice we're unpacking today
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    is receiving teaching weekly.
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    It's a core practice that all of the followers of Jesus
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    who have grown and experience that abundant life
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    that Jesus promised, they have always prioritized.
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    And I think given the unprecedented amount of messages
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    that we receive in the world today, shouting at us,
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    telling us what to value,
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    telling us where to aim our life at,
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    I think it's never been a more important practice
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    than right now.
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    See, receiving teaching is giving attention.
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    In his incredible book
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    The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,
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    the theologian John Mark Comer said:
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    That's a really fancy way of saying
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    you are what you eat.
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    That's the same as these plants.
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    If they consume good nutrients, they grow good fruit.
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    It's the same for you,
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    what you eat, what you give your attention to.
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    Now, do you know who knew the importance of
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    carefully cultivating what you give your attention to?
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    Jesus.
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    In just a minute we're going to look at
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    the very first action of Jesus ever recorded,
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    and spoiler alert, it's about this,
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    giving your attention to receiving teaching.
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    But check out the first thing that happens
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    after Jesus gets baptized, which is considered
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    to be the beginning of His official ministry.
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    He's taken straight to the wilderness.
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    He fast for 40 straight days.
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    And then Satan shows up to tempt Him.
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    So, if you ever thought the first 40 days
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    of your new job are rough, they have nothing on this.
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    Check this out, Matthew 4:1:
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    Now, I find it fascinating that
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    the very first thing Jesus faced in His ministry,
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    most of which was teaching,
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    was about receiving teaching.
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    And here's something critical to see in these words
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    that I'm willing to bet you've never seen before.
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    See, Jesus was quoting when he said, "It's written,"
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    He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 with his answer,
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    which says this:
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    See, Jesus doubled down on that message.
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    He said, "You're not made to be a self feeder."
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    That's the temptation that he was facing.
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    "Feed yourself, Jesus. Take care of it yourself.
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    Do it, do a DIY spirituality."
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    But it wasn't receiving food from God.
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    And Jesus was saying, "I don't live by the wisdom
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    that I can whip up on my own,
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    my own bread that I can make, I can feed myself.
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    I live by God's wisdom that I have to receive."
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    These words hit me like a shovel.
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    They aimed at digging up the rock in me called pride,
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    because I'm a grownup, I'm an adult.
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    I'm not supposed to need to learn anymore
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    or receive teaching from somebody else.
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    I'm supposed to be able to do it all myself, right?
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    Isn't that what we're taught?
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    I'm done with school. I'm not a kid anymore.
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    Okay, now let's talk about the first thing
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    the Bible ever records Jesus doing.
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    Do you know it's not teaching, but being taught?
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    Jesus was 12 years old.
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    He went with His parents to Jerusalem for the Passover.
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    And they they left, and His parents couldn't find Him.
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    It says in Luke 2:46:
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    Okay, so fix that image in your mind.
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    The child Jesus does what?
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    He sits and He listens to teachers
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    and He asks them questions so that He can learn.
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    Do you remember a time in your life
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    when you asked a million questions,
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    even the unsafe ones,
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    even the ones you're not supposed to ask?
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    Well, see what happens for most of us as we age
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    is that we learn the rules
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    of asking questions and learning.
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    We learn which questions are okay to ask,
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    which ones we should skip.
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    Eventually many of us stop asking questions altogether.
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    And the problem is,
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    it's killing our ability to be taught.
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    A guy named Warren Berger wrote a book about this.
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    He said:
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    You know, not incidentally, there's a story
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    where Jesus was talking about
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    what type of person of faith is the absolute greatest.
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    His answer might surprise you.
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    Matthew 18:3:
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    I don't think that means change and become little children.
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    It doesn't mean be shallow minded and naïve and silly.
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    You know what a cruel trick God would be playing
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    if He wanted us to be shallow minded,
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    but our brains were naturally growing and maturing
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    and getting more logical.
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    I don't think that's what He means at all.
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    What He means is: ask me a million unfiltered questions,
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    just like a kid.
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    Have a hunger and a curiosity to learn.
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    Because if you want to grow, you have to have
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    that same hunger to grow
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    just like you did when you were a kid.
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    This Journey hinges on one thing: your hunger to grow.
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    We prepared the soil, we gathered the nutrients,
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    we've got the water all measured out,
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    but it's up to you to dig in.
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    And if you're up for it, here's how the Journey works.
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    - There are three parts to the Journey.
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    Step one: Attend the weekend
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    and receive weekly teaching at a site or online.
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    Get inspired with the good news.
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    Step two: Do your guide work.
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    You get your very own printed guide.
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    It'll help you create a plan of action to grow deeper.
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    And step three: meet with your group.
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    During the Journey we meet in groups
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    to talk about what we're learning, grow deeper together.
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    Go here for more.
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    Come Grow!
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    - Well, hey, my name is Andy Reider
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    and hopefully that video was helpful for you
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    to understand what it means to do
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    this thing called the Journey.
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    And actually, one of the seven proven practices
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    that we're going to be leaning into
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    is receive weekly teaching.
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    Hey, well done. You did it.
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    - Good job. Right here, right now, you're doing it.
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    - You did it right now.
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    And that's just a place to get started.
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    If you're looking for more tools that can help you,
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    yeah, that's it, grow.
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    Hey, just open up your Crossroads App
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    and we've got more great stuff for you there.
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    - That's exactly right.
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    And one of those proven practices
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    that we'll talk about a little bit later
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    is through giving.
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    You can also do that in the app.
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    This is a pretty sweet app.
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    And you know what?
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    Our giving is fueling life change everywhere.
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    The simple thing to do is click your profile
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    at the bottom of the screen,
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    then go ahead and click that gear shift.
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    And once you click it, there's a simple option to give,
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    it has a little heart next to it.
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    So let's hop into the message right now.
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    - Did you know Jesus is the only major religious figure
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    who says, "Ask me questions so that I can teach you"?
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    He said this in Luke 11.
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    Jesus says, "Be like me when I was a kid.
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    I want to ask a million questions."
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    And who should you ask? Teachers.
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    See, Jesus was trying to learn
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    and not only willing to be taught,
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    but He was running away from His parents
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    so He could be taught.
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    Do you have that same kind of hunger to be taught,
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    to learn and to grow?
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    Do you have time on your calendar at least once a week
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    to run away from the rest of your life
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    and prioritize receiving teaching weekly
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    as a core practice?
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    By the way, there isn't a one size fits all
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    solution for teaching.
  • 00:15:07
    We know that the world has changed.
  • 00:15:08
    It's going to continue to change.
  • 00:15:10
    And that's okay.
  • 00:15:11
    We make these episodes intentionally shorter
  • 00:15:13
    and available on demand because we want
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    to give you options that work for you.
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    It's not about how long you listen;
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    it's about what you do with what you learn.
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    See receive doesn't just mean consume.
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    That's what we're used to in today's world,
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    we consume the information.
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    Receive means apply.
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    And my job as a teacher is simply to
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    help deliver the Word of God to you that you need
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    just like a farmhand might walk around these plants
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    and give them water and fertilizer carefully prepared.
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    That's the role of a teacher,
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    and the word of God, it's our activator for growth.
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    Hebrews 4:12 says:
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    For the Word of God is alive and active.
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    Do you want activity? Do you want movement?
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    Do you want growth?
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    Then you must get the Word of God
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    by receiving teaching weekly.
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    And by the way, you may notice
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    how this practice builds on
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    the first one that we talked about,
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    connecting with God daily.
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    See, we do need time on our own
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    to chew on the Word of God.
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    And we need time when it's carefully prepared
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    and given and taught to us,
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    because we don't live on bread alone,
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    but by every word from God.
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    That means you're not afraid, you're not angry,
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    you're not bitter, you're not hopeless,
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    you're not stuck.
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    You're hungry, and what you need most
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    is the food that matters the most: The Word of God.
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    See, more growth is possible for you.
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    It is, but only if you make a habit
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    of receiving teaching weekly.
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    If you've got the hunger to grow,
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    we've got you this week.
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    In your guide you're going to do an exercise
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    that's, I think, really cool.
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    It will help you identify what style of learner you are,
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    how you receive teaching the best.
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    So, make sure you do your guide this week.
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    Make sure you go to your group.
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    Let me pray for you as you do those things.
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    God, thank you for everybody watching.
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    Give us exactly what we need to grow. Amen.
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    - Hearing Kyle talk about how the Word is alive,
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    it's just invigorating.
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    Because it can seem a little dead on paper.
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    But when you apply it,
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    when you take it out of the paper,
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    out of the context,
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    when you move with it, it's powerful.
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    - That's right.
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    There's something that happens when we,
  • 00:17:18
    well, take God's Word and make it alive
  • 00:17:20
    by taking it with us through the rest of our day.
  • 00:17:23
    Right? Like something special happens.
  • 00:17:25
    So, I want to give you two more tools,
  • 00:17:27
    two more ways that you can take that thing
  • 00:17:30
    that happens with God's word and extend it out
  • 00:17:32
    through the other 127 hours of your week.
  • 00:17:35
    Because we're not just content, like,
  • 00:17:37
    we don't just make stuff.
  • 00:17:38
    - This can't be it. - Right, this can't be it.
  • 00:17:40
    That's a good way of saying it.
  • 00:17:41
    Like we're a community that you can
  • 00:17:42
    fully belong to wherever you are.
  • 00:17:44
    So two things for you.
  • 00:17:45
    One, we've got a thing called online prayer night.
  • 00:17:47
    I'm going to tell you something,
  • 00:17:49
    I'm going tell you it's on Zoom.
  • 00:17:50
    And just don't -- just listen to me. It's awesome.
  • 00:17:52
    Like, it's great.
  • 00:17:53
    We've seen God do amazing things
  • 00:17:55
    and we've got time to worship, time to pray,
  • 00:17:57
    time to connect as community coming up.
  • 00:17:59
    I would love for you to join us.
  • 00:18:00
    I'll be leading worship. It's going to be a great time.
  • 00:18:03
    Secondly, Kyle, who you just heard from,
  • 00:18:05
    he's got a podcast, a podcast called A Better Answer,
  • 00:18:08
    brand new, just dropped.
  • 00:18:09
    That is a chance for him to answer
  • 00:18:12
    real world questions from a 20 something, and get, like,
  • 00:18:15
    real world advice for how to make God's word alive
  • 00:18:18
    and active through the rest of your day.
  • 00:18:21
    - Well, you know what?
  • 00:18:22
    We've got a sneak peek of what's next on Crossroads,
  • 00:18:25
    because this is just the beginning.
  • 00:18:27
    So, take a look right now.
  • 00:18:30
    - You know what would be really stupid
  • 00:18:31
    is if you would take a light
  • 00:18:34
    and put it under a basket or a bushel.
  • 00:18:37
    I wonder what's under. Oh, a light.
  • 00:18:39
    Yeah. It doesn't make any sense
  • 00:18:41
    for a light to be under a bushel.
  • 00:18:42
    When stuff is going to grow
  • 00:18:44
    because it's exposed to light.

Sep 23, 2022

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